The Fray of Werebirds [Discontinued]

Chapter 18 - The Bogus

"The Bo-what?"

Two werebirds seized me and tugged me away. I struggled but to no avail. Sirena's shrieks of protest faded behind me as I was shepherded through trees and bushes.

I guess I'll just have to 'go with the flow'.

"So... Where's this Tartarus place?" I asked, trying to sound casual.

"You'll see," my shepherd replied, "I bet you're excited to meet your new friend."

"The... What'd you call it? Booger? Boggart?"

"The Bogus."

"What is that?"

My two custodians glanced at each other knowingly and then one of them sneered, "Quite a vicious fella. We had a hard time throwing him down there."

My heart sank. After witnessing so many werebirds, I wasn't sure I was ready to handle a new beast, not to mention one they could barely deal with.

At some point, we halted next to a well. For a brief moment I thought my escorts might be nice enough to supply me with water. Instead, one of them carried me effortlessly and stuffed my butt into a bucket.

"Ouch! Hey!" I squealed in discomfort.

With my hands tied behind my back, I could do nothing but flail my legs helplessly as they began to lower me with the pulley, which had chains instead of ropes. I tried to reach out to the edges of the well with my feet and almost toppled out of the bucket. My outcries echoed fruitlessly as I descended roughly into the narrow darkness. I felt slightly claustrophobic with the tight brick walls encompassing me and extremely uncomfortable in the cramped bucket.

"This is Tartarus? Seriously?"

I peeped up pleadingly at the two werebirds, who were shrinking above me, but they only cackled cruelly. When the light vanished completely, the bucket rocked back and forth harshly. I tumbled onto the wet ground, which was covered with a shallow layer of water, not deep enough to cushion my fall.

My groan was almost inaudible over the clatter of the chains being hoisted back up. I rolled onto my back, muttering curses and trying to sit up, when I heard a splash nearby. I scanned in the well's interior, fearing I might spot a pair of nasty yellow eyes staring back at me, but I could see nothing in the midst of the darkness. Another splash, and this time I didn't just hear it, I felt it.

A pair of hands clutched my neck and squeezed. I gasped and writhed in the somber water as fingers dug into my throttle. I thrashed blindly until my foot found its target. I kicked repeatedly in the same spot, but my assailant was stronger. The air clogged in my throat and I gagged for breath, wheezing like a dying animal. All of a sudden, the fingers released me from their grasp. I sucked in a sharp breath, my head throbbing.

"You're a human," a male voice remarked.

"Tell me something I don't know," I shot back angrily, still panting.

"Sorry, I thought you were one of those savages up there. What's a human doing on an island like this?"

"I have no idea!" I snapped, "Seriously? Why am I here? Why should a teenager like me have to get choked inside a freaking well on an island full of lunatic cockatoos? Honestly, what did I do to deserve this? Is it because I didn't do my homework? Is it because I was a naughty kid who peeked at his gifts before Christmas morning? So Santa Clause decided to hire an agent called bad luck to whip my sorry butt, eh? I almost died – How many times now? Bah! Doesn't matter, I lost count."

A moment of silence passed before my ex-assailant burst into peals of laughter that echoed throughout the hollow well.

"What?" I growled, although I couldn't help but smile a little. I sure sounded ridiculous.

"I haven't laughed in a long time," he chuckled, "The name's Brock."

He seems quite nice.

"I'm Caleb. Hey – can you help me untie my hands?"

After some shuffling in the dark we managed to free my hands. I stood up, dripping wet, and rubbed my wrists absentmindedly.

"You came just in time, actually," Brock said, "I'm going to be escaping this hellhole tonight, after the sun sets, through an opening I've been digging for the past few days. I'm not sure what I'll do once I'm out, but I guess I'll find a peaceful spot on the island where I can settle until my sentence is over."

Sentence? So he's a jailbird?

"Why don't you just fly out?" I asked, "I mean you're a werebird too, aren't you?"

"I am," he confirmed, "But unfortunately this well is made of cursed bricks that restrict my power to transform into a bird." He paused, "It's funny how we're being imprisoned within a prison."

"Yeah, I'm currently accompanying two werebirds, not from this island. I guess I'll find them and stick to them until they've solved this problem they've got."

I told Brock about Sirena, the death of her mother, the queen, and Tamara, who was attempting to kill Sirena by all means in order to keep that powerful position to herself. I finished speaking and recalled what Fernando said about this other queen who was planning to take over the flocks. I wasn't exactly interested in the fate of werebirds, but I was pretty sure I heard him talking about making humans their slaves.

If the human race were to get involved in this –

I shook my head clear of any complicated thoughts and decided to focus on something else. When my eyes adjusted to the dark, I examined my gloomy surroundings, but I could only discern the round brick walls and Brock's vague outline.

"Shouldn't there be some creature down here called the Bogus?"

"Actually, that would be me," Brock admitted.

I sighed with relief, "Why would they call you that?"

"It's a long story. I bet you'll die of boredom."

I plopped down on the damp ground.

"We've got until nighttime, right?" I reasoned, "I bet I'll die of boredom either way."

"Well, then, if you insist..."